Tile-coating machine and process



May 3, 1927. 1,627,096

L. S. JONES ET AL TILE COATING MACHiNfi AND PROCESS Filed March 16. 19252 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 3,1927.

L. s. JONES ET AL TILE comma momma AND PROCESS Filed Mal ch 16. 1925 2Sheets-Sheet 2 w R \w gwvenkom LouiJ SJoned, a, (iarfieldwfiqher CarlGHenrilmon p 35 tion, consequently Patented May 3, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS S. J ONES, GARFIELD W. FISHER, AND CARL HENRIKSON, F ANDERSON,INDIANA, ASSIGNOBS TO THE NATIONAL TILE COMPANY, OF ANDERSON, INDIANA,

A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

TILE-COATING MACHINE AND PROCESS.

Application filed March 16,1925. Serial No. 16,025.

Oursaid invention relates to tile coating or glazing machines intendedto coat tile of irregular shapes, including trim tile, with a liquidwhich when fired becomes a glaze the liquid being applied from above inthe orm of an atomized spray consisting of a glazing compound mixed withwater to make it thin enough for use in an atomizer. It is an objectthereof to apply the coating or glazing material or compound in the formof a descending spray.

.Other objects are to control and adjust the thickness of the coating,to render it more uniform in thickness than heretofore, and

to make the process cheaper and more expeditious. We have found thattile treated by our method can be picked up and handled without damageto the coating b' the fingers of the operatives immediately a ter thecompletion of the spraying operation Apparently this is due partly tothe drying of the atomized particles of the compound by the air used ingenerating the spray as well as by the surrounding an and perhaps partly2 to the fact that the coating is made very 11111- form by our method sothat it dries equally all over the coated object.

Our method enables the operator feeding the tile to ins set the tile.for defects in the body thereof efore it goes on the machine. It furtherenables the operator to place each tile in exactly the same position onthe bands, p or belts, thereby allowing each tile to pass under thesprayer in exactly the same posicausing t e glaze on each tile to bemore uniform in thickness, whether the tile be flat or of irregularshape.

We attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in 4a which, r

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the entire machine; Fig. 2,a plan view of the machine with part thereof in section; Fig.3, avertical transverse section on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fi" 4, a detail section on line 4-4 2 of a stripping or cleaning device;

- Fig. 5, an enlarged section through the bands showin how the tile arecarried thereon and ass through the spraying chamher an 1 i ure 6, adetail section of the support for t e spraying deviceeg of. Fig.

The rails 11, cross-bars 12 and the legs 13 constitute the mainframeworkof the machine. Rotating in bearings 14 at one end of the frame is ashaft 15 driven by a bevel gear 16 mounted thereon. Gear 16 is driven bya bevel p1n1on 17 mounted on a shaft 18 rotating in bearings 19, shaft18 being equipped with a cone or step pulley 20 operatlng 1D. conunction with a cone pulley 21 by means of belt 22 for the purposehereinafter described; cone pulley 21 is mounted upona shaft 23 which isdriven by a pulley 24, driven by any suitable means. Shaft 23 is carriedin bearin s 23.

Mounted on sha t 15 is a pulley or drum 25 having narrow grooves 26 andwide grooves 27 in which grooves run endless bands or wires 28 and widerbands 29 these bands pass through a spraying chamber 30 and over adelivery table 31 (in the direction of the arrow). Mounted in brackets32 1s a shaft 33 on which rotates an idler pulley 34 similar in allrespects to pulley 25, over WhlCll bands 28 and 29 return to pulley 25.In returning, these bands pass beneath table 31 and spraying chamber 30.Between pulley 25 and the spraying chamber 30 a board 35 is locatedpractically on the same level ing material as may adhere to them whilethey are exposed to the spray which falls on them whenever a space isleft between the tile or alongside the tile during'the opera tion of themachine. The aforesaid cleaning device is mounted upon a bridge 36 andis composed of strips of metal 37 and 38 between which are clamped twostrips 39 and 40 of some soft material, as rubber or felt. The bands 28and 29 pass between the strips 39 and 40 which, due to their flexibilityconform to the sectional contour of the bands thereby thoroughl cleaningthem before the pass on over p eys 34 and 25. Clamped tween strip 37 andbridge 36 is a trough 41 serving to carry away the coating material thusremoved from the tional spra in devices 43 which spray the mixture gazing compound and compressed air downward onto the tile as they throughthe sprayingfchamber lying ace upward on the bands. The spraying devices43 are mounted on swivels 44 which are secured in slots 45 in pairs offingers 46 'bolted to anarm 47, said arm 47 being slidably mounted in aguide 48 supported on the upper ends of legs 49. W1th this type ofmounting it will be seen that spraging devices can be adjusted to sprayt e tile from various ositions and angles, so that tiles of irregu arshape will receive the proper thickness of glaze over their entire suraces. Slots 54 in he support 47 provide for lateral and pivzgal adustment of the bars 46 which are se red in place by means of bolts 55passing through elongated slots at 56 in the upper ends of the bars 46.

. Thesebars are also provided with slots at their lower ends at 45through which pass bolts 58 on the swivel blocks 44 which are providedwith pins at 57 so that the nozzles may be adjusted in one way bymovement about pins 59 as a pivot and in another direction by movementpnbolts 58 as a pivot. It .will be seen from this that a wide range ofadjustment is rovided for the nozzles so that the spray o glazingmaterial can be ap lied more heavily to one part of an irregu arlyshaped trim tile than to another part of the tile in asingle operationor can be equally distributed over all parts of irregularly shaped tilesof the character described. Particles of spraying com und light enoughto float in air are .wn upward and out of the spraying ipe 50 by anyconventional-suction mec anism. This 1s to prevent these particles frompolluting the'air outside ofithe spraying chamber. f The part of theglazing compound which is sprayed past on alongside the tile and betweenthe bands iscollected in the bottom of the s 'raying chamber, andconducted throug an opening 51 to suitable containers in which it may becollected and re-used.

Spraying chamber 30 is provided {with doors. 52 arranged tobe swung outof the way so that certain tile havinig exceedingldy irregular shapesmay.be sprayed by han -the o rator standing in front of spraying chain rwhile performing the work within.

i Suitable lighting arrangements are provided to illuminate the interiorof sprayin chamber 30 and small openin s 53 in core 52 permit the workto be 0 served during its normal automatic travel through the machinewithout opening the doors.

In this particular machine two of the bands 29'are made considerablywider than the balance of the bands 28, for two reasons; the one reasonbein that they are better adapted on account 0 their strength to carrytiles with narrow supporting parts, such as illustrated in Fig. 5; andthe other being that the bulk of the work is doneat the-righthand sideof the machine where the bands are shown, wherefore it is desirable torender that side of the belt stronger than the other to take care of theheavy wear and weight,

The width and spacing of the bands 28 and 29 is designed to meet therequirements of various sizes and shapes of tile and is not restrictedto that shown in the drawings.-

Drums with a plain surface ma be used in conjunction with a device forcoping the belts properly spaced.

There are two different modes of o eration that may be performed in thismac ine,

one mode or process being that in which the I tile are fed continuouslyin successive contact with each other through the machine, as shown inthe drawings, the tile being laced on the bands as they run off the. puley 25. The coated tile after passin beneath the spraying devices areremoved as they are fed over table 31 andplaced in safi'gers for firing,during which operation t ey may be further ins ected for defects in thetile or the coating 0 glaze. The other-o oration is one in which thetile are place on the bands and fed through the machine withconsiderable s ace between them so that they may be picke up b anoperator standing in front of the cliamber 30 thereupon spraiyed by handand replaced upon the ban s and upon emergin from chamber 30 be removedas they are ed over table 31.

In the first operation described it will be seen that as the tile arefed continuously through the spraying chamber under the spraying devicesit becomes necessary that the s eed with-which they move be controlledor adjusted so that the laze coating is of the proper thickness. or thispurpose the machine is rovided with the cone ulleys 20 and 21, w ierebythe s aid of the andsmay be-accelerated'or re need. We do not, however,confine ourselves to the use of cone pulleys as other means may beprovided .for controlling and adjusting the speed. p

The use of this machine assures a uniform glaze on all tile regardlessof shape, size, porosity, density,,hardness or softness of the tile. Itwill .be obvious to those skilled in the art that the machine may bemodified in various particulars withoutdeparting from the spirit of theinvention and that it is not A vention what we claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A combination machine for treating tile of heterogeneous formcomprisin a series of arallel wires providing a traveling belt, bands ofgreater cross section than the wires at one side of said belt extendingparallel to said wires, a chamber through which the belt travels, meansfor producing within the chamber a spra of glazing comound, doors in thecham er adjacent said hands, and pulleys at opposite sides of thechamber for guidin the elements of said belt in spaced relation to eachother, substantially as set forth.

2. A machine for treating tiles of irregular shape comprising aconveyor, a plurality of nozzles above said conveyor for sprayingglazing compound on the tiles, means above the conveyor supporting thenozzles for independent lateral adjustment transverselyof the conveyor,and means to fix the nozzles in adjusted position, substantially as setforth.

3. A machine for treating tiles of irregular shape comprising aconveyor, a plurality of nozzles above said conveyor for sprayingglazing compound on the. tiles, means above the conveyor supportin thenozzles for independent vertical a'ncl lateral adjustment relatively tothe conveyor, and means to fix the nozzles in adjusted position,substantially as set forth.

4. A machine for treating tiles of. irre lar shape comprising a conveyora plura ity of nozzles above said conveyor for spra ing glazing compoundon the tiles, means a ve the conveyor sup orting the nozzles forindependent pivotal lateral and vertical adjustment relatively to theconveyor, and means to fix the nozzles in adjusted position,substantially as set forth.

5. A machine for treating tiles of irregular shape comprising aconveyor, a plurality of nozzles above said conveyor for sprayingglazing compound on the tiles,

means above the conveyor su porting the nozzles for independent pivotaand lateral adjustment relatively to the conveyor, and means to fix thenozzles i? adjusted position, substantiall as set forth.

6. A machine for treating tile com rising a plurality of .travelingstrands wit open spaces between them, means to hold such strands inconstant spaced relation, a chamber through which the strands travel,means for producing within the chamber a spray of glazing compound, andmeans conforming to the sectional contour of the strands for cleaningthe upper run of said strands after they pass the coating chamber,substantially as set forth.,

7. A machine for treating tile comprising a plurality of travelingstrands with open spaces between them, means to hold such strands inconstant spaced relation, a chamber through which the strands travel,means for producing within the chamber a spray of glazing compound, andflexible means adjacent the end of each run adaptedto conform to thesectional contour of each strand for removing glazing compound adheringthereto, substantially as set forth.

8. A machine for treating tile comprising a plurality of travelingstrands with open spaces betweenv them,,means to hold such strands inconstant spaced relation, a'chamber through which the strands travel,means for producing within the chamber a spray of glazin compound, andmeans for varying the spec of travel of the strands for controlling the'thickness of the layer of liquid applied to the tile, substantially asset forth.

9. In a machine adapted to treat tiles of irregular shape, a conveyor, afixed arm above the conveyor, a finger secured to the arm for lateral,vertical and pivotal adjustment relatively thereto, and a nozzlepivotally supported on the arm, said nozzle being adjustable lengthwiseof said arm, substantially as set forth. v

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hzmds at Anderson, Indiana,this 2nd day of March, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-five.

Louis s. JONES. GARFIELD w. FISHER. CARL o. HENRIKSON.

